State Parks – Page 10 – Wandering Dawgs

Best Campgrounds of the year – 2014

December 31, 2014January 19, 2015Posted in Arkansas, COE Park, Parks, RVing, State Parks, VirginiaTagged Claytor Lake State Park, Maumelle Campground, Mississippi River State Park15 Comments

Although we didn’t wander too much in our RV this year our travels took us to some very memorable places. We visited family, camped by lakes and rivers, got together with old friends, visited a distillery, watched barges go by on the Mississippi River, went to 2 Georgia away games, and ate award winning barbeque and tamales.

During our 2014 travels we camped in 8 states and stayed in a total of 17 different parks: 7 state parks, 5 private RV parks, and 5 federal parks.

So here it is, the first ever “Wandering Dawgs best campgrounds of the year” list.

Number 3: Claytor Lake State Park, Dublin, Virginia.

Site D21 – our favorite site at Claytor Lake State Park

Swim platform at Claytor Lake State Park

Claytor Lake State Park is our favorite place to stay when visiting family in Virginia. We’ve returned several times and enjoyed each stay.

There are plenty of things to do in the area to keep you busy. The state park has a nice beach and swimming area, hiking trails, a marina, and gift shop with free Wi-Fi. The Blue Ridge Parkway is close enough for a day trip and Virginia Tech in Blacksburg is just a short drive away.

We always stay in one of the big pull through sites in section D. Each site has water and electric, a picnic table, and fire pit. The sites are wide enough that you don’t feel like you are on top of your neighbor. There are no waterfront sites in the park but the lake is just a short walk from the campground.

We visited Claytor Lake State Park in April, 2014 and also in May, 2013.

Number 2: Maumelle COE on the Arkansas River in Little Rock, Arkansas

Ducks on the Arkansas river

We enjoyed relaxing at our campsite beside the Arkansas River

Maumelle is a popular Corps of Engineers park in Little Rock, Arkansas. This is a very popular park so reservations are recommended especially on the weekends. Our site, just a few steps from the lake, was a large back in with water and electric hookups, a big patio area with a fire pit and picnic table, and a beautiful view of the Arkansas River.

The campground is conveniently located in Little Rock and close to shopping. The park has a boat ramp, playground, basketball court and a picnic area. It is a good home base for exploring the area. We enjoyed a day trip to Petit Jean State Park.

We visited Maumelle Campground in October, 2014.

Number 1: Mississippi River State Park, Marianna, Arkansas

Relaxing at the campsite on Bear Creek Lake

This Great Blue Heron came back to the same spot on the lake each day

Not only the best campground of 2014, but I would rate this one of the best state park campgrounds ever!

The park is located in the Mississippi Delta on the Crowley’s Ridge Parkway and the Great River Road within the St. Francis National Forest. We stayed in the Beech Point Campground on a peninsula in Bear Creek Lake. There are only 17 sites in the campground with 14 full hookup waterfront sites and 3 tent sites. Ours was a large pull through with a big patio area for the picnic table and fire ring. Everything was clean and new, the staff at the visitor’s center and the rangers were friendly and helpful, and the view from our site couldn’t be beat.

This is a great place to sit and watch the resident Great Blue Heron and turtles on the lake. The visitor’s center has a very well done and interesting interpretive center about the Mississippi Delta. The lake is a popular fishing destination and if you enjoy scenic drives the Great River Road and Crowley’s Ridge Parkway are both close by. Oh, and award winning barbeque is just a short drive from the campground.

We’re already trying to figure out when we can camp here again!

We visited Mississippi River State Park in October, 2014.

Honorable Mention:

Winfield COE on J Strom Thurmond Lake in Appling, Georgia.
Lake Chicot State Park, Lake Village, Arkansas.
Trail of Tears State Park, Jackson, Missouri.

Where do you think we will wander next year? Stay tuned…

Happy New Year!!

Lake Chicot State Park, Arkansas

November 12, 2014August 13, 2015Posted in Arkansas, Birds, Parks, Road Trip, RVing, State Parks, Sunset, WildlifeTagged birding, cypress trees, Lake Chicot State Park, Lake Village Arkansas, Mississippi Delta, white pelicans, wildlife photography2 Comments

We continued exploring the Mississippi Delta at Lake Chicot State Park in Lake Village, Arkansas. Traveling south on Highway 165, a section of the Great River Road, we passed fields of cotton on both sides of the road.

The largest natural lake in Arkansas, Lake Chicot is also the largest natural oxbow lake in the United States. Our campsite was surrounded by wild pecan trees with a nice view of the lake. Our first day there, we drove across the mighty Mississipi River to Greenville, Mississippi to bring home 3 dozen delicious hot tamales.

Cypress Trees on Lake Chicot

This little raccoon is much cuter than the ones at home

Sunset at Lake Chicot

Located in the Mississippi Flyway, the park is a great place for bird watching. In addition to egrets, herons and ducks, we were surprised to see a huge flock of White Peliicans on the lake.

White Pelican flies by blue heron over Lake Chicot

White Pelican on Lake Chicot

Far at the other end of the lake we saw this huge flock of white pelicans

We took a self guided driving tour along the Mississippi River levee. Most of the 20 mile tour was right on top of the levee. On one side of the levee were borrow pits with cypress trees, lily pads and many birds. On the other side was farmland.

Egret in the tree on the levee tour

Borrow Pit beside the levee

When traveling the backroads, you never know what you’ll see crossing the road

Cypress Trees beside the levee

We camped at Lake Chicot State Park in site 7 on October 21-22, 2014. For my review of this campground click here.

Crowley’s Ridge Parkway and the Great River Road in Arkansas

November 1, 2014August 6, 2015Posted in Arkansas, Birds, Parks, Road Trip, RVing, State Parks, WildlifeTagged Crowley's Ridge Parkway, Delta Cultural Center, Great River Road, Marianna Arkansas, Mississippi Delta, Mississippi River State Park, Scenic drives, wildlife photography6 Comments

Our home base to explore two scenic byways through the Mississippi Delta was Mississippi River State Park in Marianna, Arkansas. The large visitor’s center is less than 2 years old and has an excellent interpretive center about the Mississippi Delta area. The staff and rangers were friendly and helped make our stay here memorable.

The park is located in the Mississippi Delta on the Crowley’s Ridge Parkway and the Great River Road within the St. Francis National Forest. We stayed in the Beech Point Campground on a peninsula in Bear Creek Lake. It is one of the best state park campgrounds we have ever seen. There are only 17 sites in the campground with 14 full hookup waterfront sites and 3 tent sites. Ours was a large pull through with a big patio area for the picnic table and fire ring. For my review of this campground click here.

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To ask about exploring the area we talked to Park Ranger John as he was patrolling the campground. After getting directions, we had a plan for the next day.

Crowley’s Ridge rises 200 feet above the Mississippi River Delta flood plain and stretches more than 200 miles from just below Cape Giradeau, Missouri to Helana, Arkansas. The Crowley’s Ridge Parkway in Arkansas traverses the entire ridge. The section of the parkway we drove is called the “high road” by the locals.

The Great River Road and Crowley's Ridge Parkway run together for a few miles — The Great River Road and Crowley’s Ridge Parkway run together for a few miles

We started our drive to Helena-West Helena on the “high road”. On top of Crowley’s Ridge, the gravel road wound through the St. Francis National Forest. Only a few of the tall oaks, sycamore and buckeye trees had started showing any fall colors. The only other vehicles we saw belonged to hunters. I hope they had better luck with deer than we did. We only saw one all day. Except for a couple of National Forest campgrounds there was no other sign if civilization.

After about 20 miles we were back on a paved road and soon were on Cherry Street in Helena-West Helena to visit the Delta Cultural Center. Oh No! Closed on Monday! We felt like the Grizwalds when they got to Wally World to find it closed for repairs!

We took the “low road” back to the campground. This gravel section of The Great River Road is just a small part of the 10-state route from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico along both sides of the Mississippi River. In Arkansas the road rarely goes right beside the river.

As we drove along the “low road” we passed through Cypress swamps and took a side trip to the mouth of the St. Francis River where it joins the Mississippi River. With Willow Trees growing along the banks of the river, the mighty Mississippi is about a mile wide in this location.

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We enjoyed two delicious meals from local restaurants that day. The meals were so memorable I will post about them in a later post. Stay tuned!

Fall Colors at Lake of the Ozarks State Park

October 18, 2014October 20, 2014Posted in Missouri, Road Trip, RVing, State ParksTagged autumn, fall colors, Lake of the Ozarks4 Comments

Lake of the Ozarks State Park is the largest state park in Missouri. The park has many miles of shoreline as well as many trails for hiking, biking or horseback riding. The rain followed us from Columbia and our hopes of hiking were rained out.

We chose not to pull our fifth wheel on the narrow, winding roads to one of the beautiful waterfront sites in the campground. Instead, we stayed in a big site with a view of the woods. We enjoyed watching four deer come out at dusk.

Time to relax

Henry found this fuzzy Catterpillar

Blondie likes the leaves

Rock cliffs line the shoreline at Lake of the Ozarks and although we were too early for the fall colors to be at their peak the trees were starting to display the beautiful orange and yellow of autumn.

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Good Friends, Full Moon and the Mississippi River

October 12, 2014May 25, 2015Posted in Missouri, State Parks, Sunrise, SunsetTagged Cape Giradeau, Mississippi River, Trail of Tears14 Comments

Our journey continued on I-24 West through Nashville, Kentucky, and Illinois before we crossed the Mississippi River into Cape Giradeau, Missouri. Our home for the next 2 nights was about 15 miles north of Cape Giradeau in Trail of Tears State Park in Jackson, Missouri and our campsite was right on the Mississippi River.

The state park is a certified site on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and commemorates the tragic relocation of five Native American tribes from the southeastern United States to Oklahoma. The visitor’s center in the park features exhibits that interpret the forced relocation.

We enjoyed watching barges going up and down the river and the trains which passed by on the tracks along the river.

Crossing the Mississippi River into Missouri at Cape Giradeau

Monarch Butterfly

Blondie and the Butterfly

We enjoyed watching the barges going down the Mississippi River

Sunset over the Mississippi River from at Trail of Tears State Park in Jackson, Missouri

Moon rising over the Mississippi River

The state park is part of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail

Trains went by behind our campsite all day and night

Sunrise over the Mississippi River

Sunrise over the Mississippi River at Trail of Tears State Park in Jackson, MO

The highlight of our stay was visiting with one of my best friends from elementary school. She and her husband drove down from St. Louis to spend the day. We had a lot of catching up to do – the last time we saw each other was in the 6th grade about 50 years ago! She looks just like she did back then! We drove down to Cape Giradeau for lunch at Port Cape Giradeau and a little sight seeing along the river. After lunch we enjoyed the murals on the flood wall beside the river.

With Jean in Cape Giradeau

Mississippi River high water marks at Cape Giradeau

There are 24 different Mississippi River Tales Murals on the floodwall in Cape Giradeau

With my friend Jean beside the Mississippi River

After emotional good byes my friend and her husband returned home and we returned to the campground. We enjoyed watching the trains and barges and had front row seats for the Blood Moon rising over the river.